The US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Nicole Chulick, said that it is important for Kosovo to cooperate with its partners to strengthen candidacy for membership in all Euro-Atlantic institutions, as well as in the Council of Europe.
Chulick made the comments in a meeting with a group of journalists at the United States Embassy in Pristina, writes Radio Free Europe.
She repeated that the US vision for Kosovo is for it to be part of the Euro-Atlantic institutions.
“We call on Kosovo to listen to the advice of its closest partners, in order to guarantee a positive result when it comes to any vote,” said Chulick.
During her visit to Kosovo, Chulick met with the country’s president, Vjosa Osmani, and with Prime Minister Albin Kurti.
She said that she has expressed to them some concerns of the European partners regarding the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority and the regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo, which prohibits the use of the Serbian dinar.
“Kosovo must continue to work on these issues, address them and move forward again,” said the American official.
“Knowing also the responsibilities that the Central Bank of Kosovo has, we have constantly expressed our concerns about the way of implementation [of the regulation]. We have not felt that she has taken into consideration how it will affect the communities, especially the Serbian community. Therefore, we are observing the situation and we are concerned”, added Chulick.
The US Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, also present at the meeting with journalists, expressed his disappointment with yesterday’s action by the Kosovo Police in the north of Kosovo, during which several Serbian financial institutions were closed.
Hovenier said that this action was not coordinated with international partners and, according to him, de-escalates tensions.
He asked the Government of Kosovo for constructive engagement in the dialogue facilitated by the European Union, describing it as “the right channel for solving issues related to the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia”.
